CHILDREN'S waistlines have ballooned by two sizes over the past 20 years, according to a study published today.

CHILDREN'S waistlines have ballooned by two sizes over the past 20 years, according to a study published today.

Bulging waistlines used to be a problem associated with middle age but school uniform manufacturers are increasingly seeing a demand among children for what they euphemistically term - sturdyfit trousers.

The change, uncovered by researchers at the Archives of Disease in Childhood, equates to some 4cm (1.57in) and is seen as further proof of the alarming rise in childhood obesity in the UK.

Malcolm Eden, who owns school uniform shop Eden's in Cardiff, said, "I agree totally and I would say the biggest changes have been during the past five years.

"We're selling more and more of what we call in the trade 'sturdy-fit' trousers and it's definitely affecting boys more. We now do trousers up to 42in waist for little boys aged about 13.

"But it hasn't just affected waistlines - what we're finding is that even for the older boys we're doing a lot longer leg. We used to do a 26in leg but now we do anything from 29in to 33in for 13-year-olds."

Phil Gasson, of Clair Adam Schoolwear, Carmarthen, reported a similar trend. "The whole structure of children's bodies has changed over the past 20 years," he said.

"For example, sturdy-fit trousers used to be specialist clothes but now they're exactly the same price as normal trousers."

Parents and children faced with a potentially embarrassing shopping experience is one of the less alarming consequences of "the obesity timebomb". If current trends continue, the Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health predict that one in three adults and girls and one in five boys will be obese by 2020.

With the rise in obesity comes increased risk of heart disease, cancers and type two diabetes. Dr Wyndham Boobier, of the University of Glamorgan, is on an anti-obesity crusade around primary schools in South Wales.

The man who created a virtually fat and sugar free version of the Jammie Dodger is on a mission to give children and their parents no-nonsense advice about nutrition and physical activity. He said, "I'm not surprised by this research.

"People now are very different from 30 to 40 years ago in terms of convenience foods and high-fat, high-sugar diets.

"And perhaps even more important is the lack of physical activity. With each generation the incidence of childhood obesity seems to be getting worse, and unless something is done it will cost the health of the nation, and for the individuals concerned it will definitely impact upon their quality of life and, indeed, their length of life."

One of the report's authors, Dr Mary Rudolf of East Leeds Primary Care Trust, says in today's British Medical Journal, "This figure is all the more disturbing when one reflects on how many notches on a belt this represents.

"Our data are of concern. The previous rise in body mass index levels reported through primary schools has continued into secondary school and emphasises the need for more rigorous efforts to stem the tide of child obesity."

Health risks are rising in line with children's weight and girth

WAIST size measurement is seen as an important medical indicator because of the link between abnormal girth in adulthood and increased risk of heart disease.

For the new study, researchers weighed and measured 500 children from 18 schools from 1996 to 2001 and compared the figures to past research.

In the final year, 315 children from the group, of average age 13, were examined and it was found their gain in weight had exceeded what would be expected against a normal gain in height.

Alarmingly, in 1996 one in 10 boys and one in eight girls were overweight but by 2001 one in seven boys and one in six girls were. Waists were also "significantly larger" than in 1996.

Schools in the fight against obesity

HEADTEACHER Mike Sullivan, of Abercanaid Community School, near Merthyr Tydfil, is determined to tackle the issue of childhood obesity in his school.

Having witnessed the problem at first hand, which he blames on fast food consumption and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, he teamed up with Dr Wyndham Boobier, of the University of Glamorgan, to draw up a range of strategies.

The most tangible effect was that when the new school building was unveiled last year it contained a children's kitchen, used for demonstration purposes, and changing rooms and large school fields to make PE less of an ordeal.

The school has also replaced all sugary snacks and drinks with fruit with cold water fountains.

He said, "We can see children are getting larger but we can also see how we can influence this in school."